Centrifugal pump mechanism



April 2, 1946 l v. N. M BEQRTSON` 2,397,718

` CENTRIFUGAL PUMP MECHANISM V Filed May 27, 1942 2 sheets-sheet 1- Ap2, 1946. v. N. ALBER-rsoN CENTRIFUGAL PUMP MECHANISM Filed May 27, 19422 Sheets-Sheet 2 u lill/470 mM/.vf W.

Patentedl Apr. 2, 1946 i.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP MEcHAyIsM Victor N.Albertson, Minneapolis, Applicatin May 27, 1942, serial No. 444,616

9 Claims. '(01. 10a-103) This application is filed as acontinuation-inpart of my pending application Serial No. 392,267 led May7.194,1, under title Auto parts washer, and which application maturedinto Patent No.

2,352,356 on June 27, 1944. The present invention is directed to animproved centrifugal pump mechanism and associated lter; and, generallystated, consists of the novel devices, combinations of devices, andarrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and deilned in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying' drawings wherein likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig.v l is a transverse vertical section taken through the washingapparatus such as that disclosed in my pending application aboveidentified and showing the improved pump and lter mechanism incorporatedin the said washing machine;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken approximately on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an axial section taken through the pump and lter mechanismsubstantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. l; g

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on th'e line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a 'view in elevation, with some parts broken away,illustrating a centrifugal pump head that differs slightly in details ofconstruction from that shown in Fig..3; and

Fig. 6 is a View, partly in plan and partly in axial section, taken onthe line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Referring first to thev construction illustrated in Figs. l to 4,inclusive, Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate substantially the same use of thepump and iilter mechanism herein claimed applied to a wash'ing machineof the type of my above identied pending application, and hence, theparts of the washing apparatus, other than of the pump and illtermechanism, will be quite briey described as follows: Th'e tank forcontaining the washing fluid, here illustrated, is a rectangularstructure 1 I0, preferably formed of sheet metal, provided at a pointconsiderably below the open top thereof with a work table or. deck II.At one end of the tank andV separated from the interior thereof is abox-like motor housing' I2. This motor housing is, by suitabIemeanS,securely Aanchored to and obliquely projects into the tank I below thedeck Il.'

Thetank I0 along its sides andends is provided with a sediment receivingtrough I3. Within the motor housing I 2 is an'electric motor, not hereinshown but-illustrated in my pending application, the rotor of which isprovided with an obliquely extended shaft I4 that extends into adrum-like shell or casing I provided with heads I6 and I1, the latter ofwhich is provided with a sleevelike hub I8. To rigidly support the shellI5 from the motor housing I2, a' tube or pipe section I9 is rigidlyconnected to the hub of the housing I2 and is extended through the headI6 and rigidly se cured within the hub I8 of head Il by suitable v meanssuch as a set-screw 20. A long sleeve 2| is 'telescoped onto theextended end of the pipe section4 I9 'and its threaded end is extendedthrough the4 head I6 and connected to said head by a packed nut 22.

The head I1 is hanged and is detachably connected to a supplemental head23 by a packed joint 24 andmacbine screws 25. Head Il and.

conical screens 30 and. 3| between which is contained the fibrousfiltering material 32. These screens and th'e ltering material aiford aconical partition between the receiving and the discharging end of thefiltering chamber afforded by the casing I5.. i

It should now be noted that the motor-driven shaft I4 is axiallyextended through and journaled in. the head Il and projects into thepump chamber 26.

In thedrawings the screens 30 and 3| are perforated thin sheet metalcones, but may take other forms. Their oblique extensionl within thecasing I5 gives a maximum perforated surface within the space allottedfor the same.

The centrifugally acting pump head is located within the casing of thepump chamber 26 and is secured to the inwardly projected end of themotor-driven power shaft I4. This pump head is a hollow'shell-likestructure having an axial in,

take passage and open at its Aperiphery for the free discharge of thecirculated water or liquid under the action of centrifugal force. Thepump head may take4 various forms but is preferably of the form shown inFigs. 3 and 4 wherein the said pump head is made up chiefly of tworeversely bulged discs or plates 33 and 34, the peripheries of whichareA brought close together but -Slightly spaced. The reducednut-equipped end or trun`` I nion of the shaft I4 is extended axiallythrough the inner disc 34 and is thus rigidly secured to said shaft forrotation therewith. The outside disc 33 has a quite large axial intakeport 35 that registers with the intake port 21. A sealing ring or washer36, preferably of ber, is seated in the ysupplemental head 23 and hasfrictional engagement with the bulged side of the disc 33 surroundingtheintake port 35 of the latter.

' Located within the rotary head and secured to at least one of thediscs thereof are substantially radial impelling varies 31 that startradially inward of the intake port 35 and extend to or substantially tothe periphery of the pump head. These vanes 31 may be spot welded erotherwise secured to both of the discs of the head. As best shown inFig. 4, the disc 34 i's provided with several circumferentially spacedears 38 that are bent over and welded or otherwise secured to theoverlapped edge of the disc 33. Here it should be noted that' thecircumferentially spaced ports 28 in the head or wall I1 of the pumpchamber are located radially inward of the substantially cylindricalsurrounding peripheral wall of the chamber 26, this being done for apurpose which will presently more fully appear.

The pump chamber 26, at at least one point and preferably at the extremebottom thereof, is provided with a transverse intercepting groove ortrough 3S from which outwardly extends a sediment discharge passage inthe nature of a port 40. The term sediment is herein used to includesolid or heavy foreign portions which, under the action of gravity,would naturally settle and which, under the action of centrifugal force,will be thrown radially outward against the surrounding cylindrical wallof the pump chamber..

As will hereinafter more fully appear, this roagainst the interiorcylindrical wall of the chamber and on reaching the intercepting troughor channel 39 will be stopped or intercepted in its movement and, underthe internal pressure of the fluid, will be caused to escape or bedischarged through the port 48.

l The internal' fluid pressure produced in the chamber 26 will cause theliquid, except for its discharge sediment and some slight leakage withthe latter, to flow through the ports 28 to the interior of the conicalshell 38, fromA thence through the filtering material,` thence throughthe screen 3 I and from thence out through the outlet or pipe 29. Withthe main fluid outlet ports 28 located as described, the sediment andthe fluid that carries the same will be caused to circulate radiallyoutward of said ports 28, thereby preventing the sediment from beingdischarged through ports 28 and causing .the same to be skimmed off anddischarged through the sediment port 48. By this arrangement the majorportion of the sediment or tary centrifugal pump mechanism operates as acombined pump and separator for removing the heavy or solid portions,called sediment, from the water or other liquid that is being circulatedby the pump and discharged through the filter..

impurities carried by the fluid will be removed therefrom before thefluid is subjected to the` filter and only a veryv minor portion of theseparation of impurities from the fluid will be intercepted by thefiltering material. Hence, only infrequently of the centrifugal headpasses into the interior of K said head through the port 35 radiallyinward of the vanes 31 and comminglesfin a common body before it isacted upon by the said vanes. This insures even distribution of thefluid between the circumferentially spaced vanes with resulting uni- 40form discharge of the water or fluid at the periphfluid outlet ports 28taken singularly or collectively, so that centrifugal. separation can beautomatically accomplished without materially reducing the flow throughthe main outlet passage or passages 2B.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a somewhat modified form of therotary pump head, the same. in this instance, being made up of aconcavo-convex plate 4I secured to a hub 42, and a fiatdis'c 43. Inlthis arrangement the discs and plates are spaced at their peripheries,except for clinched ears 44 of the plate 4I that are bent over and holdthe plate 43 in place. .'Ihe hub 42 is adapted' to be secured to theinner end of the power-driven shaft I4. This pump head, shown in Figs. 5and 6, will have the inner propelling vanes 45 arranged like the vallesv31 of the previously described head. Y

In the operation of the combined pump and separator described, thewateror fluid will be delivered through the port 21 into the interior ofthe rotary pump head and, under the action of centrifugal force, will bedischarged from the periphery of the head under high velocity againstthe surrounding cylindrical wall of the chamber 26 and will be caused torotate within said chamber in the direction in which the pump head isrotated. Under this action the heavier particles or sediment will becaused to closely hug or travel ery of the head.

In the application of this invention to a washer of the characterdescribed in my above identified pending application, the followingadditional con# nections may be employed and in the drawings are shown,to wit: The intake port 21 is con.

nected to a tubular arm 41 that is provided, at its free end, with ascreen-equipped receiving head 48. The outlet port or pipe 29, by a tube49. is connected to a valve SII from which a flexible discharge tube 5Iis extended. The sediment dis'- charge port 48 is connected to a tube52, the end of which is arranged to discharge into the sediment trough I3.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a pump chamber having an axialintake port, a power driven shaft extending into said pump chamberthrough one wall thereof and in axial alignment with the intake portthereof, the inner periphery of said pump chamber being defi-red by asubstantially cylindrical wall having anormally open peripheraldischarge port for dlschage of for- 1 eignsub'stance and which has adiameter ma- 2. In a device of the kind described, a pump chamber havingan axial intake port, a power driven shaft extending linto said pumpchamber through one wall thereof and in axial alignment with the intakeport thereof, the innerl periphery of said pump chamber being defined bya substantially cylindrical wall having a normally open peripheraldischarge port for discharge of foreign substance and which has aldiameter maaxial intake port in alignment with the intake port of thepump chamber.

3. The structure defined in claim l in which the said pump head is ahollow structure composed of axially spaced walls, one of which isprovided with an axial intake port in alignment with the intake port ofthe pump chamber.

4. In a device of the kind described, a substantially cylindrical pumpchamber having an axial intake port through one of its axially spacedwalls, a nlter chamber in axial alignment with the pump chamber andhaving one of its end walls formed by the other of the axially spacedwalls of the pump chamber, a power driven shaft extending axiallythrough the filter chamber and into the pump chamber, a rotary impellerhead mounted fast on said shaft within the pump chamber, a normally openrestricted discharge port for foreign substance in the peripheral wallof the pump chamber, a main fluid outlet port leading from the pumpchamber to the filter chamber through the wall of the pump chamberseparating the same from the filter chamber, said main fluid outlet'portbeing materially radially inwardly spaced from the aforesaid restrictedperipheral discharge port, a fluid outlet passage from the filterchamber, and a filter within the filter chamber interposed between thesaid main fluid outlet port leading from the pump chamber 'thereinto andthe said outlet p0rt from the lter chamber, said filter being astationary element.

5. In a device of the kind described, a pump chamber having an axialintake port, a power driven shaft extending into said pump chamberthroushonewallthereofandinaxialalig'nment with the 'intake port thereof,the inner periphery of laid pump chamber being defined by asubstantially circular wall having a normally open peripheral dischargeport for discharge of foreign substance and which has a diameter'materially less than the width of the inner circular` surface of thepump chamber, a circumferentially spaced series of main ilui'd outletports leading from the pump chamber in materially radially inwardlyspaced relation from the peripheral wall.

of the pump chamber, and a rotarypumphead mounted onsaid shaft withinthe'pump chamberlndhavingimpellervanes. l

6. The structure dei-ined in claim 5 in which the inner substantiallycircular surface of the peripheral wall of the pump chamber is formed toprovide a catch channel extending transversely thereacross I andintersecting the foreign substance discharge port.

7. The structure dened in c1aim'5 in Which the said circumferentiallyspaced main iiuid outlet ports extend through a side wall of the pumpchamber, and in further combination with a filter chamber in axialalignment with the pump chamber and having one of its walls i'ormed bythe discharge port-containing side wall of the pump chamber, the saidpower driven shaft extending throughsaid wall and through said filterchamber, a fluid outlet passage from the filter chamber interposedbetween said circumferentially spaced main pump chamber outlet ports andthe outlet from the filter chamber, and an annular stationary filterelement in said illter chamber between the said circumferentially spacedoutlet ports from the pump chamber and the outlet from the lter chamber.

8.` In a device of the class described, a pump chamber defined by spacedside walls and an approximately circular peripheral wall, asubstantially axial intake port in one of said side walls, a drum-likecasing extending axially from the last said pump chamber wall, saiddrum-like casing havinga closed end opposite said pump chamber wall, atube rigidly carried by and projectingV from the last said. pumpvchamber wall through the closed end of said drum-like casing, a powerdriven shaft extending through said tube and the said wall ofthe .pumpchamber, a pump rotor mounted on said shaft within the pump chamber, arestricted normally open foreign substance discharge port through theperipheral wall of the pumpchamber, a plurality ofcircumferentially-spaced main fluid discharge passages from the pumpchamber through the said pump discharge passage for discharge of foreignsubchamber wall adjacent the said drum-like casina. said main fluiddischarge passages being materially radially inwardly spaced from theperipheral wall of the pump chamber, a iiuid outlet from the drum-likecasing, and an annular lter disposed in said drum-like casingintermediate said pump chamber outlet ports and the saidv outlet passagefrom the drum-like casing.

9. In a device of the kind described, a pump chamber having lan axialintake port, a power driven shaft extending into said pump chamberVthrough one end wall thereof and in axial alianment with the intake portthereof, the inner pe riphery of `the pump chamber being defined by acircular wall having a normally open peripheral stance and which has adiameter materially less than the width of the inner peripheral surfaceof the pump chamber, a fluid outlet port leading axially through theother end wall of the pump chamber in' materially radially inwardlyspaced relation from the peripheral wall of the pump chamber,l and .arotary pump head mounted on the shaft within the pump chamber and havingimpeller vanes. f

y NZALBER'I'SON.

